Mutualink Unveils Google Glass for Public Safety

WALLINGFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At APCO 2013 (Booth 745), Mutualink,
Inc. will demonstrate real-time multimedia interoperability for public
safety using Google Glass. The demonstration will utilize Mutualink’s
advanced interoperable communications platform, selectively and securely
sharing two-way voice and video between command and control, partner
agencies, and officers in the field with Google Glass. The technology
interfaces with a FirstNet 4G LTE wireless broadband connection,
demonstrating how critical multimedia information can be shared between
public safety personnel in an emergency situation.

“Mutualink was very fortunate to be part of a select group of innovators
given access to Google’s new Glass technology,” said Dr. Michael
Wengrovitz, Mutualink’s Vice President of Innovation. “We have leveraged
our innovative interoperability platform and the Google Glass wearable
hands-free device to create ground-breaking advances that enable
anywhere, anytime communications and information sharing.”

Through Google Glass’ onboard audio and microphone, video camera and
built-in heads-up display, it is possible for a user – such as a police
officer or fireman – to use Google Glass to share live streaming video
with other personnel and monitoring points, and simultaneously
communicate with other partner agencies. Mutualink’s technology makes
this possible even if the various parties have incompatible radio
systems or other communications devices. Mutualink also enables
multimedia file sharing, and when this is combined with Google Glass,
first responders could receive and view documents, images and schematics
in real time.

Examples of potential applications for this technology in the public
safety arena include:

Firemen reviewing the schematic of a building before entering and
while navigating a burning structure

EMTs triaging patients at the scene of an accident with current
medical records of victims

Police being able to watch video feed from school security cameras in
real-time during an active shooter scenario.

“The capabilities that are made possible by combining Google Glass and
Mutualink can save lives in many crisis response situations,” according
to Joe Mazzarella, Senior Vice President of Mutualink. “Though Google
Glass is still in beta, we are quite enthusiastic to be at the cutting
edge of technology, and taking a leading role with Google Glass and its
novel implications from a societal benefit perspective.”

The technology is enabled through Mutualink’s secure and
sovereign-controlled multimedia interoperability platform, which is
unique in terms of protecting privacy and control. Mutualink’s system
maintains privacy and does not permit sharing of any media resources
unless the agency controlling the media resource accepts a request to
share their information. All users manually control the sharing or
un-sharing of their own media resources. Once disconnected, the session
stops and there is no way for an outside party to access the media
resources of others. There is no centralized intelligence monitoring
point or cloud based big data repository with shared access
vulnerabilities. Mutualink’s solution is distributed and retains both
logical and physical sovereignty at an agency level.

With regard to privacy issues raised regarding Google Glass, Mutualink’s
position is that Google Glass is no different from the many public and
private surveillance systems already deployed that capture public
activity. “What we can do as citizens is begin the dialogue about the
proper balance between privacy and community welfare from the public
safety perspective. We believe there is a balance to be had, and we are
strong advocates of purposeful, situational need driven information
sharing within a secure and distributed owner-controlled environment. We
don’t believe that a centralized data sharing model is sound or
ultimately privacy friendly. Cognitively aware information sharing is
the state of the art and best solution to balancing legitimate interests
of information sharing needs and privacy. In our world, thousands of
discrete sharing decisions are made on an incident by incident basis,
defined by need and relevance. This is a much better approach,” states
Mazzarella.

“We believe our approach is the key to enabling effective multi-agency
cooperation and interoperability as well as allowing critical
infrastructure partners to participate in a way that preserves
legitimate privacy interests between private entities and government
agencies,” concluded Mazzarella.

Mutualink will be showcasing Google Glass in APCO Booth #745. For those
interested in learning more please contact Beth Clay at bclay@mutualink.net
to schedule a 10-minute session with Mutualink’s VP of Innovation.

About Mutualink

Mutualink,
Inc. has developed an interoperable communications platform that enables
community-wide multimedia sharing of radio, voice, text, video, data
files and telephone communications in a secure environment. Mutualink’s
system is currently deployed by hundreds of public and private entities
worldwide, including homeland security and defense installations, NATO
Special Operations Forces, police and fire departments, transit
authorities, hospitals, shopping malls, casinos, and more. Mutualink is
a privately-held company headquartered in Wallingford, Conn., with R&D
facilities in Westford, Mass. and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and Defense
Services office nearby Washington, DC. For more information please visit www.mutualink.net.